It's a practice some Nashville kids have nicknamed "exposing:" Secretly taking a cell phone video or photo of other kids, in a compromising sexual position, then sharing those images on social media or via cell phone.

The images have proliferated on some social media sites in Nashville under multiple variations of the name "exposing" or "THOT" - shorthand for, among other similar phrases, "that h- over there."

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Counselors and educators say "exposing," a form of cyber-bullying, can be devastating to its victims.

Its proliferation has the attention of education, law enforcement and child welfare groups. At the beginning of the school year, officials with the Department of Children's Services, Metro Schools and the District Attorney's office convened their first meeting to discuss how to respond to "exposing" incidents.

"Exposing" is also central to four lawsuits filed against Metro Schools within the last two months.

Each of the lawsuits each allege school officials failed to follow federal Title IX rules in properly responding to alleged sexual assaults captured in cell phone images - then shared online and via cell phone.

A spokeswoman for Metro schools declined to comment on specifics of the alleged incidents, citing pending litigation and student privacy.

"However," said spokeswoman Michelle Michaud, "we will not tolerate 'exposing' of students."

Lawsuits: 'exposing' led to harassment

Two of the lawsuits filed against Nashville schools focus on the same incident last September when two fourteen-year-old girls both say they were subject to "unwelcome sexual activity" in a school stairwell by an unspecified number of 18-year-old male students.

At least one male student videotaped the encounters then circulated the video online, on social media and through cell phone texts or other messaging services, according to the lawsuit.

Both girls continued to experience harassment as the video circulated, including being labelled "sluts" or "whores," the lawsuit alleges. One girl left school while the second girl failed a class and sought counseling from her pastor, the lawsuit said.

The allegations of videotaping girls in non-consensual sexual encounters then circulating the images are repeated in two other lawsuits, involving separate incidents at Maplewood High School.

'Nothing short of significant trauma'

The posting and sharing of such videos through cell phone sharing and on social media site such as Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook is "nothing short of significant trauma" to its victims - even when the sexual encounters are consensual, said Roger Dinwiddie, CEO of STARS Nashville, which works with youth on substance abuse, bullying and violence issues.

"There's nothing that could be more detrimental to a kids' well-being than the distribution factor - the spread," he said. "Regardless of the act itself, the fact it was spread to God knows only how many is reputation-damaging."

"Exposing" has "become a phenomenon" but, it is not a practice most kids engage in, said Dinwiddie.

What kids are saying

Maplewood High School students Renah, 17 and Juan, 16, had not heard of the lawsuits involving the school - or the incidents that gave rise to them.

But both teens said they had heard of kids involved in secretly taking videos of other students "getting into it" and sharing them on Snapchat and Instagram.

"It's pretty messed up," Juan said. "I know a girl who was getting into it with a guy at a party and some guy posted that stuff on Instagram. She was upset. She got worried her parents would see it."

Kids post "exposing" images on Instagram, text or tell friends to take a look, then take the images down in a few days so they can avoid getting into trouble, Renah said.

What the law says

Taking and sharing images of minors engaged in consensual or non-consensual sexual contact can lead to potential felony charges, according to Rob McGuire, a former district attorney.

They include aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and unlawful photography, McGuire said.

Even kids who share those images can be subject to criminal charges, he said. "For a person that passes it along, that's still a potentially serious charge," he said.

A new Tennessee law giving prosecutors more leeway to bring misdemeanor instead of felony charges against teens for sexting - sending provocative pictures - would not apply to "exposing" if images are taken by a third party, he said.

How social media sites respond

Social media sites such as Instagram have their own policies for responding to inappropriate sexual contact or nudity involving minors.

A spokeswoman for Instagram said the photo and video sharing site uses a technology that scans all images to flag child exploitative materials so they can be quickly removed. The company works with agencies to block people searching for known child exploitative terms and a team of professional investigators that work with law enforcement to build cases against people breaking the law.

The company also urges people to use Instagram's reporting and blocking tools for content, so the company can investigate, said spokeswoman Emily Cain.

Education efforts

Kim Janecek, education curriculum manager for the Sexual Assault Center, said she has talked to school administrators and teachers to "let them know this is happening in some schools."

Janecek said she hears of 'exposing' "quite often."

"I was at a school social worker conference and had seven or eight different (school) counselors from across Tennessee saying 'we do have this issue in our schools. What can we do?'"

Janecek advises them to go through training to learn how to talk to students about safe and unsafe uses of technology and have conversations with parents to make sure they are monitoring their children's social media.

Deadly consequences

When explicit images of teens are shared on social media or with peers, it can lead to depression, failing in school or having trouble concentrating, interfere with friendships and can lead to drug and alcohol abuse and eating disorders, Janecek said.

It can also lead to worse.

In California, the mother, father and step-father of 15-year-old high school student Audrie Potts started a foundation to address cyberbullying and sexual assault.

Three teenage boys in 2014 admitted to sexually assaulting Potts in 2012 while she was intoxicated at a party. They covered her nude body in Sharpie markings and took photos, which soon went viral online.

Potts committed suicide a week after the incident.

"We've spoken to victims and the most traumatizing thing if you go back as recently as 10 to 15 years ago is that people can be victims of sexual assault and - other than a close friend or counselor or your mother - nobody knows about it and you can psychologically move on," said Lisa Potts, Audrie's stepmother.

"Now each subsequent exposure is psychologically, mentally and emotionally the crime happening again. They are left wit this event over and over and over again.

Reach Anita Wadhwani at awadhwani@tennessean.com; 615-259-8092 or on Twitter @AnitaWadhwani.